Saturday's 17

Last night, my husband and I joined some friends at their house; we ordered Chinese and watched "300." I really liked the movie -- it was very violent, but honestly, it wasn't as gruesome as some critics made it out to be and I thought that the violence in "Sin City" was far more disturbing and graffic than this -- it was very stylized and I liked the artistry and cinematics of the film. On the whole, I thought it was neato-burrito and would recommend it (to mature audiences only).

We got home a little later than I had wanted, but that's how a Friday night is, and I didn't get to bed until 11:30. This would've been just dandy except I had to get up at 4:00 this morning in order to make it to the 5 am group run. When my alarm went off at 3:45, I so thought about not going. I seriously tried to justify staying in bed, but in the end, I knew I had to just suck it up and get out there (hey, if 300 Spartans can face a Persian army of millions, I figure I can face a long run at 5 am).

I started at 5 b/c I wanted to do a longer run and the more time before the sun rises, the better. So, I joined the early group, found someone who was my pace (yay!), and we were off. I'd originally planned to do 14, but once we were on the road, the momentum of the run and at the insistence of my fellow back-of-the-packers (there turned out to be four of us), I ended up doing 17.

You heard (or, read) me right, I did 17 miles this morning.

Admittedly, by mile 13, I was really starting to stiffen up and by 14, I seriously wanted to be done, but I pressed forth. At mile 14, 2 of our merry little band went ahead, but one other woman and I took our time through the last 3 miles alternating running with some walking. I was glad for her company; she pushed me to keep running through some times when I wanted to drop into the grass and crawl, and I appreciated having the company for that distance. And in the end, I was so happy that I decided to go for the longer run (like 14 isn't enough, right?) b/c right now, I feel really good.

It's hard to believe that a little more than a week ago, I wanted to quit. Now, I feel like a million bucks and I've done 17! I guess that's the ebb and flow of marathon training, and learning to deal with those highs and lows is part of the process (probably one of the more difficult aspects, really). Plus, it makes a huge difference how the group run goes -- this one went well, so I think I'll stick with them -- the one poor run must've been a fluke (fingers crossed).

Ahhhh...so now that I'm showered, hydrated, and fed, I'm beginning to feel sleepy. 41/2 hours is not enough sleep for Jess. I think I will return to the land of slumber and take it easy the rest of the day -- perhaps I will finish Harry Potter!

Have a great Saturday, peeps!